Chapter 122 Mine Labyrinth - 7 Upon seeing the two arrive, Sirius stood...
Upon seeing the two arrive, Sirius immediately put down the tools he was holding.
Lu Yi pushed open the glass door and let Tang Bufan go in first, then followed. Sirius seemed to have not slept all night, and stared at the handsome Tang Bufan with some embarrassment, smoothing his curly short hair with his hand.
"Good day, Madam."
"Hello."
The two greeted each other, and Tang Bufan glanced at the ground next to him, where the disassembled glass shell of the aircraft lay.
"Can we tell the strength of the Rebooters from these?" Lu Yi asked Sirius, his expression slightly solemn.
“The chip in this aircraft tells us that it was manufactured 178 years ago,” Sirius replied to Lu Yi solemnly. “It is an ‘outdated’ aircraft, but in terms of performance, it is no less than ours. Their technology is at least two hundred years ahead of ours.”
Lu picked up a part and examined it, then denied it: "There aren't that many, and I suspect they're also short on funds, otherwise they wouldn't have allowed such an old aircraft to continue its missions, and we even managed to capture it."
Sirius thought about it and felt that Lu Yi's analysis made sense.
Lu Yi then asked him, "Is it possible to disassemble and replicate this aircraft?"
Although the Western Federation has already acquired aircraft manufacturing technology from humans, there are still things they can learn from this small aircraft.
“I’ve sent the 3D scans of all the parts to the Federal Research Institute. We’ll see if we can crack the key parts,” Sirius said.
While the two were talking, Tang Bufan curiously looked at the disassembled casings. He couldn't understand the intricate electronic parts and was afraid of damaging them, so he only touched the smooth casings with his hands.
He suddenly saw a circular wave pattern, like a crystal carving, printed on the transparent glass.
“This is the icon of the Rebooter,” Sirius said from the side.
Tang Bufan certainly knew that before the Western Federation even knew about the Rebooters organization, he had already seen the icon on Zero's abandoned umbrella.
Island... Tang Bufan stared at the icon and thought of Penglai. Initially, they suspected that the Rebooters' base was in Penglai, but Guo Shen had already investigated it in person and found that it wasn't.
But Penglai was indeed the last human ground base to fall. Tang Bufan turned to Lu Yi and asked, "Miss Fang Yue's plan for a new human base, is it to renovate Penglai?"
"Yes." Lu nodded and then told him, "She has arrived in Taicheng and is now staying in the inner palace."
"The inner palace?" Tang Bufan was hearing about this place for the first time.
“Teacher, you’ve been there before,” Lu Yi said. “Didn’t you take the internal elevator directly to the bottom of the mountain?”
Tang Bufan suddenly remembered that when he was in that elevator, he did see several buttons inside, but he didn't press them randomly. He only guessed that there were several spaces hidden inside Mount Tai, and it seemed that one of them was the inner palace where humans lived.
Humans cannot breathe the air directly from the ground, otherwise they will suffer from chronic poisoning like Tang Bufan did before. Therefore, each federation has built enclosed houses with air filtration systems for humans who come to the ground each year to live in.
"Humans have already arrived..." Tang Bufan murmured knowingly, continuing to look at the circular wave totem. He thought of the map Bren had shown them at breakfast; the location of the Rebooter base was on the coast of Zhejiang...
Penglai... A beam of light suddenly shone into Tang Bufan's brain, and he instantly became excited, his mind becoming clear.
"Penglai!" Tang Bufan shouted, "There's a Penglai in Zhejiang too!"
The two people at the control panel looked at him, and Tang Bufan quickly walked to Lu Yi's side and asked him to release the map.
"Evelyn," Lu Yi called out, and Evelyn projected the holographic map onto the control panel.
"
Tang Bufan pointed to the Zhejiang coast, his eyes shining: "There are two Penglai in China, one is Penglai in Shandong, and the other is Penglai in Zhejiang. Back then, Qin Shi Huang sent the alchemist Xu Fu with three thousand boys and girls to find the elixir of immortality in pursuit of immortality. Xu Fu did not find the elixir, but he found an island, which is Penglai Island. However, the exact location has been debated throughout history."
Penglai in Shandong is a direct place name, while Penglai in Zhejiang is a scenic area. Therefore, the former is more widely known, while the latter is probably only known to people in the southeastern coastal areas.
"Two Penglai?" Lu Yi thought for a moment and gradually understood: "You mean the final place where humanity fell was not the Penglai we always thought it was, but another one?"
“No, it was never actually conquered.” Tang Bufan’s gaze was fixed: “The Rebooters were Chinese people from a thousand years ago, another group of humans who did not enter the underground city.”
As he finished speaking, the maintenance room fell into a brief silence, then Sirius slowly let out a "wow".
“That makes sense!” Sirius exclaimed excitedly. “It has now been confirmed that the Rebooters are a human force independent of the dungeons. We have always wondered where those humans came from and how they managed to build their base without our orcs’ knowledge. But if it is a human base that has been hidden for thousands of years… then its sudden appearance makes perfect sense!”
“Yes, and I suspect that the higher-ups at the time used a deceptive tactic to conceal the truth.” Tang Bufan continued, “At that time, only one-third of humanity could enter the underground city. Many abandoned humans therefore headed north, flocking to Beijing and Penglai in search of refuge, but little did they know that the real Penglai base was in the south.”
There are two Penglai, one in the south and one in the north. As people rush to the north, the increasingly empty south becomes incredibly safe.
Lu Yi looked at Tang Bufan, who had already sorted things out, and asked, "Does the teacher know that place?"
Although Anthony has obtained the satellite location, Zero's caution means they might not actually bring Tang Bufan directly to their base; they might just transport him to a nearby location. But if Tang Bufan knows where he is, that would be a different story.
"This..." Tang Bufan was stumped. He looked at the holographic map in front of him and said somewhat awkwardly, "I'm from Fujian. I only know that there's a Penglai in Zhejiang, but I don't know exactly where it is..."
He really didn't know.
After Tang Bufan finished speaking, he looked at the layers of mountains on the holographic map. The southeastern coastal area was already full of mountains and islands, and with the changes in the terrain over the past 1200 years, he could no longer even make out the general area of Fujian.
Seeing that Tang Bufan didn't know the exact location, Lu Yi wasn't disappointed. He patted Tang Bufan's back.
“It’s already quite impressive that the teacher was able to discover the real Penglai base,” Lu Yi said gently. “Since they are Chinese people who were left on the surface a thousand years ago, there must be someone in the East District Underground City who knows about them. Let’s ask Pei Zhishu.”
Tang Bufan nodded.
Afterwards, Lu Yi let Sirius, who hadn't slept all night, go back to rest, and then left the maintenance room with Tang Bufan. The aircraft was moving in the air. The two glanced outside and realized they had returned to the skies above Taicheng. They estimated that once Bren had contacted Pei Zhishu about the unloading location, they would land.
It was already May, and the weather was getting hotter. Tang Bufan looked at the dark clouds outside that were showing signs of dissipating for a while, and suddenly remembered something.
"Lu Yi." Tang Bufan turned to look at the eighteen-year-old beastman beside him.
Lu Yi was confused, but the man said in a serious tone, "Shouldn't you go back and pick up your graduation certificate?"
"..." Lu Yi didn't know how to respond.
But Tang Bufan looked at him very seriously: "I almost forgot, it's already May, you're graduating soon, right?"
"Don't worry, teacher." Lu Yi had to explain to Tang Bufan, "I told you before that high-level orcs receive special education. Their last year is basically spent on missions as an internship, so graduation is determined by their internship performance."
Tang Bufan immediately pressed on nervously, "So you've been with me for the past year...?"
“I’m on a mission.” Lu Yi started listing them off to Tang Bufan: “The discovery of mutated poison people in Poison People Town, the exploration of the wreckage of the desert mothership, the on-site investigation of the Beijing ruins, and the friendly visit to the Eastern Federation.”
He held up four fingers to Tang Bufan: "Look, that's four. Graduation certificate guaranteed."
He was also in charge of trade between the two federations this time, so with this one included, that makes five.
Tang Bufan was immediately relieved. He looked at Lu Yi, who was dressed in a smart military uniform, and felt quite proud that this outstanding young orc was his lover.
Lu Yi blushed slightly as Tang Bufan stared at her, then lowered her head and moved closer to Tang Bufan.
"Dear teacher."
Tang Bufan smiled and reached out to cover Lu Yi's mouth, thinking that they had only been separated for four days, and Lu Yi had already become so clingy.
An hour later, the aircraft landed in an open area within the inner city of Taicheng. The cargo hold door opened, and two Federation orcs began the orderly handover of the goods.
Pei Zhishu also came down from the mountain, so Tang Bufan and Lu Yi called him aside and told him that the Restarter was another Penglai.
Pei Zhishu was surprised, then his expression turned serious, and he told the two that he would send someone to investigate the matter.
The two watched the cargo handover for a while longer. The cargo, which filled several warehouses, seemed like it would take a long time to unload. Lu Yi, thinking that they didn't have any clothes in their room on the aircraft, suggested that he and Tang Bufan go back up the mountain to get some.
Moreover, their RVs are still in the garden, and the aircraft has a hangar for parking vehicles.
"Are we moving into the spaceship to live?" Tang Bufan then asked Lu Yi.
“Yes.” Lu nodded. After those two attacks, he felt that the garden on the mountaintop was no longer safe, while the aircraft had a very good security system and was their own place.
Tang Bufan thought that they had indeed stayed in the garden for a long time. Although the Guo family didn't mind, they felt a little embarrassed as guests, so he nodded.
“Then let’s go and tell Mr. Guo Wen, and visit him while we’re at it.” Tang Bufan said.
Guo Wen had saved his life.
Although Lu Yi didn't particularly like Tang Bufan interacting with Guo Wen, it was a matter of courtesy, so he went back up the mountain with Tang Bufan.
The aircraft was still unloading cargo and couldn't take the two people up the mountain, so Bren asked the aircraft's AI to send a tall off-road vehicle.
"We still have another car at Wan Yiming's place." Tang Bufan smiled and comfortably sat in the passenger seat of the SUV, letting Lu Yilai drive for him.
"I've given it to him," Lu Yi said casually, leading Tang Bufan up the mountain.
The two returned to the garden. Since it was almost noon, they discussed it and decided to go back to Qingzhu Xiaoxuan to pack their things first, and then visit Guo Wen at three o'clock in the afternoon.
The twins were in the yard. He Yun was very happy to see them return. He immediately put down the broom and went to Tang Bufan's side. He Xing's eyes also brightened slightly, but he was a little shy and stood to the side with the watering can.
"Madam, you're finally back." He Yun said to Tang Bufan, "While you were missing these past few days, what if Yiming was wailing every day, saying that he didn't protect you well?"
"Where is he?" Tang Bufan asked, not seeing Wan Yiming in the courtyard.
"He went to do odd jobs." He Xing said from the side, "Your disappearance made Wan Yiming feel guilty, so he went to Mr. Pei to ask for punishment. Mr. Pei did not blame him. It just so happens that a lot of servants resigned recently, and now the garden is short of beastmen servants to do odd jobs, so Mr. Pei arranged for him to go to the kitchen."
Now, with many soldiers stationed in the garden, the kitchen is under a lot of pressure.
Tang Bufan thought that would work. He was thinking that if he and Lu Yi moved out, Yi Ming would have to leave. He didn't expect that this kid would get into the Guo family's household service first.
Working as a servant in the head of state's household, the treatment was in no way inferior to that of the captains outside.
"Not bad, very good." Tang Bufan smiled and led the twins back into the house to pack their things.
He and Lu Yi had lived here for several months and had accumulated a lot of things, especially Tang Bufan, who had a huge stack of clothes, all of which were tailors made for him by the Guo family using good materials, and Tang Bufan planned to take them all with him.
He Yun then helped Tang Bufan fold his clothes, while He Xing tidied up the writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones in the small study, and Lu Yi organized his things in the next room.
“I really hate to see you go, Madam.” He Yun said, sitting on the bed and folding clothes. “Now that you and Mr. Louis are gone, my brother and I will have to go to work in other places again.”
There are now many unfamiliar beastmen stationed in the garden, which He Yun doesn't like. He still prefers to stay in this quiet little courtyard with his brother, serving Tang Bufan and Lu Yi.
"There's no such thing as a feast that doesn't end," Tang Bufan comforted him. "Besides, we haven't left Taicheng; we're just living in the spaceship."
He Yun asked him hopefully, "Will you come back to live here?"
"Um... probably not." Tang Bufan thought he probably wouldn't be coming back.
He Yun deflated again.
Tang Bufan thought for a moment and changed the subject: "I heard that people from the underground city have also arrived. Who are they?"
“The peacekeeping faction and the new business alliance sent a few high-ranking officials, but no one from the Academy of Sciences came,” He Xing said in the small study. He knew more about the situation than He Yun.
Tang Bufan found it strange: "Why isn't anyone from the Academy of Sciences coming? Didn't Mr. Guo Shen send a few people?"
"They said they were busy repairing the underground city system and couldn't get away." He Xing glanced cautiously outside and lowered his voice, "But I heard the Rebooter might be from the Academy of Sciences, who knows?"
Now even the servants know about the existence of the Rebooters.
Tang Bufan thought for a moment and figured that the Academy of Sciences must have known from the beginning that the Rebooter Base was the real Penglai Base, and the two sides must have been secretly in contact for the past thousand years.
Judging from Pei Zhishu's appearance, he was obviously unaware of this. Considering that the New Business Alliance is a new organization that is only a little over two hundred years old, it is normal that he does not know about this. It is just unclear whether the peacekeeping faction knows about it.
"If the Academy of Sciences doesn't send anyone, aren't they afraid of the Federation taking action against them?" Tang Bufan asked.
“They’re hiding underground, and the orcs can’t get in. What can they do to them?” He Yun said indignantly. “I think the Academy of Sciences is nominally neutral, but actually a resistance group. The Federation has talked to them several times, hoping they would share some advanced technology with the orcs, but they are unwilling, forcing us to now have to trade with the Western Federation.”
Tang Bufan had heard from Lu Yi that the two federations wanted to exchange technology, but they were still in the process of negotiation.
Discussing these matters is still too sensitive. He Xing, who was tidying up his pens and ink in the small study, thought for a moment and then changed the subject: "Mr. Yu Fen, the current chairman of the peacekeeping faction, brought his youngest son this time. He is a human who has just come of age. I heard that he was sent up to arrange a marriage."
Tang Bufan immediately became gossipy: "Marriage to whom?"
Guo Shen already has Pei Zhishu, and their two children are still very young. If they want to arrange a marriage, they can only find other high-level beastmen.
“We’re all guessing,” He Yun laughed. “I bet on Commander Zhang Lin. He’s 21 years old this year, and his family is a long-established and powerful family in our Federation.”
“I heard that Mr. Yu Fen’s youngest son is willful,” He Xing said. “Commander Zhang Lin is not very good-looking and did not inherit any of his mother’s looks. I think Commander Chen, who is 27 years old, is much more handsome.”
“He’s still on a mission in Penglai,” He Yun retorted. “If he wanted to get married, he would have done it long ago. Isn’t there a rumor that he likes his adjutant?”
"How can two orcs be together?" He Xing frowned.
“Why can’t two orcs be together?” He Yun retorted.
Tang Bufan was folding clothes nearby, listening with mixed feelings. He never expected that people would stop arguing about same-sex relationships and start arguing about two beastmen falling in love. It seems that whether or not they can have children is the root of the argument.
"I think we should continue to develop technology so that orcs can also have children," Tang Bufan joked.
“This is good.” He Yun smiled.
Just then, Kai's gentle electronic male voice suddenly rang out: "Mr. Pei has arrived."
He Yun jumped out of bed, and He Xing in the small study also puffed out his chest. Sure enough, their door was soon knocked on.
He Xing went to open the door and saw Pei Zhishu standing outside with his male assistant, who was carrying a heavy suitcase.
"You two get out." Pei Zhishu glanced at the twins.
The twins respectfully acknowledged the request and left the room. Pei Zhishu took the briefcase from his male assistant and told him to wait outside as well.
Tang Bufan was still sitting on the bed folding clothes. He and Pei Zhishu were already quite familiar with each other, and their statuses were roughly equal, so he didn't show the same politeness and courtesy as before.
"Are you and Mr. Louis going to move to live on the aircraft?" Pei Zhishu asked, walking to the sofa by the window and sitting down, placing his heavy suitcase on the small table.
"Yes, I feel a bit embarrassed to have stayed at your house for so long." Tang Bufan smiled at Pei Zhishu as he spoke, "Thank you for giving me so many clothes."
Pei Zhishu gave a meaningful laugh and replied, "Only some of them were gifts from me."
As for who sent the other part, both of them knew perfectly well. Tang Bufan felt awkward, looking at the neatly stacked clothes, and suddenly wondered which ones Pei Zhishu had sent.
However, he didn't dwell on it for long. No matter who gave it to him, it was all made by a tailor anyway.
Tang Bufan put down the clothes he was holding and sat down on the sofa opposite Pei Zhishu, looking curiously at the suitcase.
"What's this?"
“Maps,” Pei Zhishu said, opening the briefcase. Sure enough, it was full of various old paper maps, exuding a long-forgotten smell.
Tang Bufan was confused, but Pei Zhishu continued, "There is no information about Penglai in the database, but you are a 21st-century human, and I believe you, so... I think the Penglai you mentioned has been deliberately erased."
However, while electronic data can be deleted, paper data cannot be completely destroyed, so Pei Zhishu sent these ancient maps.
Tang Bufan was surprised, then frowned. He thought for a moment and said, "Could it be that the system considered Penglai Island as useless historical data and deleted it?"
Tang Bufan knew that the underground city's data machine had a limited inventory and would periodically clean up data that was useless to human survival and civilization, ranging from personal life records to obscure songs and movies.
“If that Penglai is a famous scenic spot and is also linked to traditional cultural stories, theoretically it won’t be deleted,” Pei Zhishu said. “Even if the AI determines it’s useless to humans, there will be people to review it again…”
He paused abruptly, his expression subtly changing, as if he had thought of something.
Tang Bufan looked up at him and asked sharply, "Who was the person who reviewed it?"
Pei Zhishu looked at him, hesitated for a moment, and then sighed softly: "It used to be the Education and Culture Group, now it's the Culture Department of the Peacekeeping Faction."
With Tang Bufan and Lu Yi's intelligence, Pei Zhishu didn't think he could keep it a secret.
Tang Bufan was slightly taken aback, then his gaze sharpened: "Miss Fang Yue's former organization?"
“Yes, but the education group was destroyed when she was thirteen,” Pei Zhishu said. “I think Miss Fang Yue was unaware of this.”
"It was the peacekeeping faction that destroyed the cultural and educational group..." Tang Bufan pondered, then asked, "Do you think the peacekeeping faction is involved in this matter?"
Pei Zhishu thought for a moment and shook his head: "No, I think it's just a simple power struggle. Ever since the Yu family eliminated dissidents and took them into their fold, the peacekeeping faction has undergone a complete overhaul at the top, and almost all the original founders have left."
In other words, even if the peacekeepers knew something about Penglai, it gradually faded from public knowledge as those elders left or passed away.
Tang Bufan stared intently at Pei Zhishu with his dark eyes, then suddenly asked, "Mr. Pei and Miss Fang Yue have a very good relationship?"
Pei Zhishu's eyes flashed slightly, then he smiled calmly and said, "She is my senior, and a woman I admire very much."
"..." Tang Bufan understood, responded with a polite smile, and did not press the matter further.
He looked at the suitcase again. In short, the current situation was that there was no relevant information about Penglai in the south in the database, and Pei Zhishu sent these ancient maps in the hope that he could find the location of the island.
"Is it now confirmed that the location of the Rebooter base I obtained is inaccurate?" Tang Bufan asked.
“Yes.” Pei Zhishu nodded: “When I returned to the mountain, Mr. Bren had just received the news that the drone they sent out yesterday had reached the location, but it was just a blank body of water.”
There were no islands or human bases, and the drones flew around the area repeatedly without hitting the invisible protective shield.
Tang Bufan rubbed his forehead in exasperation; in the end, his adventure had all come to nothing.
Seeing that Tang Bufan looked tired, Pei Zhishu comforted him: "You have already given us a lot of help. I think your judgment about the two Penglai is correct, so I hope you can help us analyze the location of the base based on your judgment."
Tang Bufan looked at the box full of ancient maps and nodded: "I understand. I'm pretty sure that island is in the south."
"Hmm." Pei Zhishu nodded, then glanced at the time. It was already lunchtime, so he stood up politely and straightened his suit. "Then I'll take my leave."
After saying that, he glanced at the bed piled with clothes and said to Tang Bufan, "I'm reserving this courtyard for you and Mr. Louis. You can come and stay here anytime while you're still in Taicheng."
The two sides will need to interact frequently in the future, so leaving them this courtyard is not only convenient for them, but also a gesture of hospitality from the locals.
After all, the Eastern Federation is facing such difficulties this year, and the supplies that Lu Yi delivered are definitely a timely help.
Tang Bufan thought of the twins who were reluctant to part with them, so he did not refuse Pei Zhishu's kindness.
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Author's Note: I'm such a pig! This chapter was originally 3000 words, but I copied the draft twice without realizing it, and it ended up being over 6000 words. This caused me to cry in the middle of the night and hastily write a new chapter to replace the duplicated 3000 words. Waaaaah!
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